


Nine Lives Forever

by LollingCat



Series: Immortal Ortensia AU [2]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine, Cuphead (Video Game), Mickey Mouse and Friends (Cartoon), the inky mystery
Genre: Multi, My hand slipped harder
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-27
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:08:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22926976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LollingCat/pseuds/LollingCat
Summary: Prequel to Just Me, Myself and Ortensia.Immortal Ortensia AU of Bendy and Boris in the Inky Mystery.
Relationships: Alice Angel/Bendy (Bendy and the Ink Machine), Cala Maria/Mugman, Felix (Felix the Cat)/Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Ortensia/Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
Series: Immortal Ortensia AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1647772
Comments: 7
Kudos: 18





	Nine Lives Forever

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Bendy and Boris in The Inky Mystery](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10726146) by [Mercowe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mercowe/pseuds/Mercowe), [ThisAnimatedPhantom](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThisAnimatedPhantom/pseuds/ThisAnimatedPhantom). 



Ortensia hummed as she entered the flower shop, the little ding of the bell welcoming her in. The familiar scent of nature hit her nose pleasantly. At least the smell of flowers would never change.

She walked along the aisles, far too concious of how they had been rebuilt, reorganized and _reloved_ , as she had been repeatedly telling herself over the years.

Carnations, lilies and tulips. They might not the best together, but they were always the ones she chose. They gave her the message she wanted.

_"I miss you, but I love you. Forever."_

She gently grabbed her flowers and wrapped them in a bouquet together before approaching the front counter. A small mouse was digging through something, head down under counter, round ears poking out. A fox sat on the counter beside her, turning an amused raised eyebrow Ortensia's way as he watched the mouse.

"Hello, Molly," Ortensia greeted.

The mouse eeped in surprise, jolting up and looking bewildered at her while the fox put a hand over his mouth to cover his chuckles and wide grin. 

"H-H-Hello, Ortensia! I-I didn't realize you were here! I mean! I knew you were coming! But!"

Ortensia waved a hand at the stuttering mouse. "Calm down, Molly. It's fine. Didn't you hear the bell?"

The fox snorted, swinging his legs over the counter to face Ortensia completely. "She's ear blind, I tell ya! But that's why _I'm_ here." He pointed a smug thumb against his chest. He wiggled his large fennec ears.

"Deaf, you mean?" Ortensia smiled at the fox as Molly glared at him.

The fox rolled his eyes. "Same dif, same dif."

“Jay! If you don’t even know the term, then don’t even call me out for it!” Molly huffed at the fox, who sent a toothy grin at her.

Ah, Jay. Also called SJ, SJJ, JJ, or whatever combo of the letters you could think of until he settled on the nickname, _Jay_ . His real name was Sage Junior Junior Fox, and _yes_ , he was really, legally named that. Sage Junior was quite a character, and so had Sage too. Even Jay’s great-grandfather, Finley, had been a jolly fellow, she remembered with a fond smile. They even had the same toothy smile, this far down the tree.

“You’re ear blind and you know it!” Jay reassured her. Molly glared sharper at him, frown deep. Even the timid mouse could shoot daggers. Jay smirked and glared right back.

The two glared for a moment longer before a deeper, sharper voice snapped them out of their glaring war.

“You two gonna let Aunty Orts buy her flowers?” The woman huffed as she ducked out of the back of the shop, glaring with blue eyes at the fox and mouse. “Or you gonna eye cuss each other?”

There was a deep gasp from Jay and Molly. “Naomi! Language!”

Ortensia giggled behind her hand as the half-gorgon approached the front desk. She wore a pin of a blue mug, a nod towards her heritage. She wore sunglasses over her eyes, but worry not, they were not a necessity. She had on special contacts underneath to prevent turning anybody to stone from just a stare. She just liked sunglasses, even indoors. She might be half-human and distantly cup person, but she still complained about the bright lights as a “dark water creature”.

“How you paying?” Naomi asked the cat lady. “Cash, credit or debit?”

“Credit card,” Ortensia responded, digging her credit card out of her purse and handing it to Naomi. Naomi quickly scanned the tag on her flowers, then the card and tossed them back to her.

“Alright, there you go. Tell me if I need to fire these nimwits.” Naomi waved to her as she headed to the back, pulling out her phone and calling somebody with ease.

“I don’t even work here!” Jay called back.

“Then stop coming here!”

Jay huffed, rolling his eyes as he grumbled, “Squidbreath…”

“I heard that!” She roared.

He yelped and ducked his head, ears down. Molly giggled at his misfortune. Ortensia shook her head at them, amused.

“Well, have a good day, Jay, Molly,” Ortensia said as she turned to leave.

Jay and Molly immediately perked up, waving her goodbye. “Bye, Aunt Ortensia!”

Ortensia’s smile nearly hurt her face with how wide it was. Her friends’ cute grandchildren and great-grandchildren never failed to put a smile on her face. She turned around a corner, following the sidewalk as cars rushed by and teens ran past. She felt her smile dim a little, but she forced it to remain. She had the best life she could have, after all.

“Grandma?” A voice called out to her. She paused and turned around, blinking as a tall bunny hopped over to her, a horned man by his side.

_Great-grandma_ , she almost wanted to correct him.

“Waldo!” She greeted, seeing his familiar blue-striped shirt. “And Vajekr.” She nodded with a smile to the horned _and_ halo-ed guy beside her great-grandson. There was no use delaying saying it, Vajekr was a half-demon, half-angel. Well, three-thirds demon, one-third angel, to be exact.

“Are you going to see Grandpa?” Waldo cut right to the chase, his ears falling to the sides of his head.

Ortensia’s smile thinned, but she forced it to remain. “Yeah.”

“Can I come with?” Waldo asked softly, nervously kicking the ground with the toe of his vans.

“Of course,” she replied. Every year or so, someone always wanted to come along with her. But Waldo had never been one of them, not since he was eight, stared at the tombstone, and promptly burst into tears and ran away. He was the first great-grandchild born after Oswald had died, and for some reason, he had despised that fact. He went through a scaredy cat phase, then a rebellious phase, and now… He was turning into a fine man.

"Th-thank you," he mumbled, averting his eyes. In his hand he fiddled with a white orchid.

_"I'm sorry."_

Ortensia smiled. "That's a pretty flower." Waldo ducked his head and nodded. Ortensia glanced at Vajekr. "Are you coming with?"

The demon-angel shook his head. "No thank you, ma'am. I have to go get Grandmother's medicine, and then my father wants to take me to Hell for business."

"Well say hi to Alice and Bendy for me. And your father."

"Of course, Aunt Ortensia." Vajekr bowed briefly to her, then patted Waldo's shoulder, and waved goodbye as he crossed the street to head to the hospital in the opposite direction.

Waldo's eyes flickered to Ortensia before he looked to the ground. "Uhm…"

Ortensia gave him a patient smile. "Why don't we head along now, before it gets dark?"

"Yeah," Waldo agreed. He moved into stride beside her as she walked down the familiar streets of Toon Town. It took him a few minutes of nervously fiddling with his fingers before he took out his phone and played on some colorful app.

The colors were beautiful.

Simplistic, yes, to you, but to Ortensia, who had grown up without color? It was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. Toons had just gotten access to color, and there were even cases of toons being born _with_ color popping up. The first colors were red, green and blue, and then the rest followed suit.

I won't bore you with the details of the awkwardly quiet walk, but when they got to the graveyard, Waldo appeared as if he wanted to bolt away, fidgeting with eyes darting. But he clenched onto the stem of his white orchid, and remained by Ortensia's side.

Ortensia was proud of him.

She walked passed the graves of many, many toons. Some she had known, briefly or personally, and others she had never known before. Given her situation, it was almost enlightening and saddening at the same time. She would remember every toon she could, but those ones already dead that she had never met… who would remember them?

Ortensia, every year, would place a flower on each grave. But that would happen at the end of this week. It had become tradition for her to dedicate a day to each of her passed friends. Yesterday had been Felix the Cat and today… Today was Oswald. Her sweet Oswald.

Her feet moved instinctively to his grave, knowing the way even with her eyes closed. His picture stared back at him with that framed smile, the only smile she had left of him. His name was edged into his tombstone, along with, _Here Lies,_ and _Beloved Hero_ , and _Well-known Magician_ , among other things.

Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes as she placed the flowers down. White carnations, white lilies, white tulips.

_"I miss you, but I love you. Forever."_

White, in honor of the black and white world he lived in. White, because she loved him. White, because she missed him. White, like the color of a dead body.

Waldo hesitantly placed down his white orchid next to her flowers. His eyes flickered back over to her before he focused on his photo.

"I'm… I'm sorry… Grandpa…" he whispered to the unmoving image.

_"I miss you, but I love you, and I'm sorry. Forever."_

"I…" Waldo looked guiltily at the ground. "I'm sorry I judged you, because I never knew you."

Ortensia's ears flicked up. Was she- _they-_ finally getting an explanation as to why Waldo had hated the great-grandpa he never knew? The bunny looked back at his great-grandma. Ortensia opened her arms to him. An invitation.

He accepted.

He fit right in-between her arms, snug as a bug, just like her own children had.

"What did you judge him for?" Ortensia asked him quietly, a small breeze that twitched his long ears.

He squeezed his eyes shut and nuzzled into her chest. "...He was many things."

When he didn't continue, Ortensia prompted him with a "Hm?".

"He was… a hero, an adventurer, a magician, a father, a husband… everything… But I never knew him. How was I supposed to believe he was all that great when he was- he was-..."

"He was what, darling?" She asked him, patting his back.

"He was a gay man…" Waldo admitted softly.

Ortensia felt a sigh rise within her as she glanced to Felix's grave beside Oswald's. The cat that had admired and respected her husband at first, but she watched as he fell in love with Oswald. It wasn't his choice, nor was it Oswald's that he had grown fond of him too.

"He wasn't gay. I believe the term you kids use today is bisexual." At Waldo's nod, she continued. "He loved me more than anything. But he loved Felix too. And, if I was honest, while my heart beat only for Oswald, Felix wasn't all that hard of a man to fall for. I see why Oswald liked him."

"Don't you hate Oswald for loving someone else? Don't you hate him for being bisexual?" Waldo asked, looking up at her.

"Of course not! We love everyone, even just a little bit, all the time. And I would never hate a person for their sexuality. Isn't Vajekr gay? Do you hate him?"

Waldo looked away. "...No. And he says he's also… asexual too. Which means he doesn't like… uhh… the stuff you do in bed."

"Sleep?" She smirked.

"No!" Waldo squeaked, ears and cheeks turning red. "I mean- the- the- ugh!"

Ortensia chuckled. "I know what you mean."

Waldo calmed down, ears falling back to the sides of his head. "But… how can you not hate him for being, like, romantically in love with someone else?"

"At first, I did, a little bit. I didn't want to lose him. I didn't want to mean nothing to him. But I learned that he could love me and Felix at the same time, and I could love him _and_ Felix too, even if I loved him like a husband and Felix like a best friend." Ortensia slowly shook her head. "But unfortunately, the world wasn't ready for that kind of relationship. An affair, a threesome, a cry for attention, whatever they wanted to call it."

She slowly ran her fingers through Waldo's fur. "But I'm here now. That's in the past. This is the present. This is what I live for. For all of my great-grandchildren, all of my friends. For you, too, Waldo."

Waldo wrapped his arms around you and squeezed her. "Thank you, Grandma."

Ortensia hummed, which turned into her favorite lullaby as she pet Waldo's head. Tears rolled harder, but silently, down her face when she coaxed his cat genes out of him, a gentle purr rumbling through his chest.

She stared at Oswald, Felix, Boris and everyone else's graves too, remembering each of them with fondness.

_"Thank you."_

This. This is what she lived for when they couldn't.

This is what she lived for.


End file.
